Herb Garden Ideas: There’s nothing quite like the smell of freshly cut herbs in your kitchen – unless you grow your own. As long as you have a sunny window, you can harvest your herbs when you need them to flavor your recipes, from crunchy salads to delicious pesto to refreshing iced tea.

Here are some of our favorite ideas for adding a healthy, fragrant vegetable garden to your kitchen, patio, porch, or fire escape (be sure to check your city’s fire code before using a fire escape).

Happy Herb Garden Ideas for Indoors and Outdoors

One of the most rewarding aspects of having a culinary garden is getting to enjoy the fruits of your labor. From snipping off some fresh rosemary for a cocktail garnish to using homegrown lavender in your flower arrangements, growing herbs is one of the most low-maintenance ways to start a kitchen garden. The best part? You can grow herbs even if your square footage is limited, both inside and out. Whether you set up a windowsill growing station or plant a dedicated bed in your big backyard, our herb garden ideas will ensure you have access to fresh basil, parsley, thyme, and more all year round.

1. Grow Your Aromatherapy

2. Upgrade Your Baking

Fresh herbs are just as important in the world of desserts as they are in savory cuisine. Herbs like peppermint, spearmint, basil, rosemary, lavender, thyme, tarragon, bay leaf, and sage work well in sweet recipes like cookies, cakes, sorbet, and ice cream, to name a few.

3. Get Creative With Planters Herb Garden Ideas

With a little creativity, almost anything can become a plant. A vintage cabinet, like this upcycled card catalog, makes for a no-fuss creative garden, while vessels, from pestles to enamel bowls to metal tubs with tanks, make attractive containers for a single plant—or your entire collection. For best results, punch or drill a hole in the bottom of your recycling bin to drain the water.

4. Mount Herbs on Railings

You can even turn a small outdoor space into your very own vegetable garden with this trick. Decorate your balcony, roof, or fire escape by placing colorful bowls of your favorite herbs on the railing. You’ll get as much sun and rain as you need while leaving enough space for a nice set of patio furniture.

5. Transform a Bistro Table

If you have several small containers of herbs, consider keeping them together rather than scattering them. Saving an old bistro table and organizing your pots is a great way to create a beautiful and impressive display. In addition, the grouping of plants makes watering in the summer heat much easier.

6. Bring in Mood-Boosting Plants

We all know that the scent of certain herbs can affect mood, like calming lavender and refreshing spearmint – but common culinary herbs are said to have mood-elevating properties when added to food and drink. Adaptogenic herbs like tulsi, also known as holy basil, can help relieve stress 1 (and with a tangy, blistery flavor, it tastes great, too). And its subtle mood-boosting effects are often referred to as happy, citrusy lemon balm.

7. Fill Your Sills

No outdoor space? No problem. As long as you have a sunny window, you can grow your herbs. Just place your plants by the brightest window you have, preferably in full sun. A south-facing window is fine, but a west-facing window with bright afternoon light also works well.

8. Bring in Hanging Baskets

If you’re short on space or just want some variety, ditch the petunias and fill your hanging baskets with your favorite herbs. Growing and propagating herbs like thyme and rosemary work well, or you can plant several different plants in one basket for more variety. Then simply hang in a sunny spot and harvest as needed.

9. Think of Vertical Herb Garden Ideas

Transform a blank, boring wall into a stylish, space-saving vertical vegetable garden. You can use shelves or brackets to display pots of some of your favorite culinary and medicinal herbs. You can also buy fabric containers or recycled wood pallets with landscape fabric bags to plant in, which will give your herb wall an even fuller look. This setup is perfect for an outdoor location such as a rooftop terrace or patio wall.

10. Try an LED Herb Garden Kit

Once your windows are filled with sun-loving houseplants, you’ll always have fresh, aromatic herbs at your fingertips. Just choose a compact all-in-one hydroponic garden kit like the Aerogarden Sprout, Smart Garden, or Modern Sprout Smart Growhouse

11. Plant Herbs for Your Cocktails

Ready for the best homemade happy hour drink you’ve ever made? Easily plant and harvest your herbs—like basil, rosemary, thyme, lavender, and sage—for a new flavor in your cocktails. Soak the leaves or flowers in a simple syrup to mix into recipes, mix fresh leaves into drinks, and use the sprigs as a colorful, fragrant garnish.

12. Go Garden-to-Cup Herb Garden Ideas

Blend your summer tea with garden herbs for a refreshing, aromatic cup. Add herbs like chamomile, spearmint, lavender, or lemon verbena to your next black or green tea, whether chilled or hot – or ditch the caffeine and create your blend for a cool, customized summer drink.

13. Preserve Your Herbs

To get the most out of your herb garden, harvest every few weeks during the summer to encourage full, bushy growth. If you have a bumper crop, don’t waste it – save it! It’s best to dry strong herbs like rosemary, thyme, sage, oregano, mint, and lavender: simply blend, hang in a dry, well-ventilated area, and store in airtight containers when completely dry and crispy. Mild herbs like cilantro, basil, and parsley always taste best when diluted with a little water or olive oil and frozen for later use.

14. Create a Border With Herbs

Blending form and function, herbs can be used to create beautiful edging for your garden. “Herbs can create a lovely border that smells fantastic,” says Carrie Spoonemore of Park Seed. “Using herbs as a border can also deter pests away from plants in the center of the raised bed.”One variety that’s a particularly great border plant is Anouk Lavender, which makes for a uniform edging that can repel bugs and deter rabbits and deer. Simply plant it around the greenery you want to protect or use it to enclose your entire garden.

15. Plant Herbs in Window Boxes

Many herbs grow well in confined spaces because of their fairly shallow root systems, which makes window boxes an ideal place for them. Additionally, window boxes offer good drainage—a necessity for a handful of herb varieties. “Herbs like spearmint, oregano, rosemary, and thyme all work well in window box planters,” says Joe Raboine, director of residential hardscapes, Belgard. “Window boxes are perfect if you don’t have ample space or are looking for a convenient option to grow culinary herbs.”